Meet the team

Daniel Schmidt

Custom Field

Date

One of Daniel’s big professional interest is the question of how companies should position themselves. We talked with Daniel about this interest.

How do you define market positioning and why is it interesting? “I think the concept of market positioning is often misunderstood. Some people believe positioning is something created solely in the marketing department or by an advertising agency. On the contrary, great positions are usually based on the strategic choices that permeate an entire organization: What value it offers, what innovation it engages in, what people it hires, etc. It is about this integrated set of choices: What companies choose to do, and just as importantly, what they choose not to do. With this definition, it is clear that positioning is something fundamental to a company’s strategy, and consequently also its success.”

What are some of the questions clients struggle with? “Many clients see the world and their markets changing very fast. Perhaps because of geopolitical changes, or because rapid advancements and diffusion of technologies, that allow new business models to thrive and disrupt. This obviously raises questions about how they should be positioned to maintain a competitive advantage and what choices they should make to be ahead of their game. Specifically, questions could be about what value proposition should be offered or which customers should be served?”

What kinds of projects do you enjoy working on the most? It is always inspiring to work with visionary leaders and organizations. Companies that know that they eventually must challenge the status quo and conventional wisdom in order to not be disrupted. For instance in projects where we are helping to find answers for questions such as “Are we in the right markets?” or “How do we win in these markets?” These are tough questions that require deep analysis, but is also very motivating to work with our clients on finding answers. Seeing our clients succeed and position themselves for the future is great!.”